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Grete Waitz, nine-time winner of New York City Marathon and Olympic silver medalist, dies at 57
BY Lukas I. Alpert
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Tuesday, April 19th 2011, 8:09 AM
Harry Hamburg/News/Hamburg,Harry
Grete Waitz, fastest woman in the 1988 New York Marathon, crosses the finish line.
Marty Lederhandler/AP
Grete Waitz adjusts her wreath during a 25th anniversary reunion of past winners of the race.
Grete Waitz, a nine-time winner of the New York City Marathon and an Olympic medalist, died early Tuesday. She was 57.
Waitz died in Oslo, Norway after a six-year battle with cancer.
A former Oslo schoolteacher, Waitz won her first New York marathon in 1978. It was her first attempt at long distance running and it ended in remarkable fashion with her setting a world record.
She went on to win eight more times, a record for any runner - male or female - with her last victory in 1988. She also won the London Marathon twice.
In 1984, she took the silver medal in the first woman's marathon in the Olympics. She had competed in the 1,500 race in the Olympics in 1972 and 1976.
"Grete is in my eyes one of the greatest Norwegian athletes of all time," said Norwegian Athletics Federation President Svein Arne Hansen. "Not only through her performances in sport, but also as a role model for women in sport."
She is survived by her husband, Jack Weitz, and two brothers.
With News Wire Services
lalpert@nydailynews.com
tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; tweetmeme_source = 'nydailynews';
BY Lukas I. Alpert
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Tuesday, April 19th 2011, 8:09 AM
Harry Hamburg/News/Hamburg,Harry
Grete Waitz, fastest woman in the 1988 New York Marathon, crosses the finish line.
Marty Lederhandler/APGrete Waitz adjusts her wreath during a 25th anniversary reunion of past winners of the race.
Grete Waitz, a nine-time winner of the New York City Marathon and an Olympic medalist, died early Tuesday. She was 57.
Waitz died in Oslo, Norway after a six-year battle with cancer.
A former Oslo schoolteacher, Waitz won her first New York marathon in 1978. It was her first attempt at long distance running and it ended in remarkable fashion with her setting a world record.
She went on to win eight more times, a record for any runner - male or female - with her last victory in 1988. She also won the London Marathon twice.
In 1984, she took the silver medal in the first woman's marathon in the Olympics. She had competed in the 1,500 race in the Olympics in 1972 and 1976.
"Grete is in my eyes one of the greatest Norwegian athletes of all time," said Norwegian Athletics Federation President Svein Arne Hansen. "Not only through her performances in sport, but also as a role model for women in sport."
She is survived by her husband, Jack Weitz, and two brothers.
With News Wire Services
lalpert@nydailynews.com
tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; tweetmeme_source = 'nydailynews';
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